Chapter 607: Everyone! This Old Man is Officially a True God Now!

The Heaven-Earth Cosmos Chest was connected to both the boundless starry skies above the Abyss and the endless darkness below.

The Gate of the Abyss was the key to revealing entirely different phenomena, depending on whether one entered the chest with or without the pendant.

This secret was known only to Pang Jian and Luo Hongyan.

They had once entered the chest and experienced its absolute darkness, freezing cold, and deathly silence.

Though Luo Hongyan's emotions had long since been extinguished, her memories remained.

When Great Demon God He Motian and several other Demon Gods scoured the Abyss for the Primordial Demon, she had already determined that Pang Jian had imprisoned the Primordial Demon inside the Heaven-Earth Cosmos Chest.

However, she never revealed this truth to He Motian, as keeping the Primordial Demon sealed was far more beneficial to the progression of her plans.

She knew what the Primordial Demon sought in the Abyss, and she would not allow it to use the unique environment of the Abyss to advance.

A Sovereign like her was the absolute authority of the Hall of Gods.

If the Primordial Demon, the progenitor of all demons, were to leverage the unique environment of the Abyss to attain power comparable to hers, it would inevitably threaten her supremacy and undermine her dominion.

Unfortunately, with Li Zhaotian on the brink of merging with a divine seat, about to fully become one with the barrier, she had no choice but to reluctantly decide to release the Primordial Demon.

After all, the Primordial Demon could not escape her grasp while within the Abyss, nor could it threaten her status in the short term.

She assumed the Primordial Demon would instantly track down Li Zhaotian when she lifted the lid.

Contrary to her expectations, the chest was empty.

It was impossible for the Primordial Demon to have escaped unnoticed with her cultivation realm and vast perception.

That could only mean that it was truly gone.

When did the Primordial Demon escape from the Heaven-Earth Cosmos Chest? Where has it gone?

Did the endless darkness beneath the Fifth World completely eat away at it? Or is there something else at play here?

Luo Hongyan had no way to be certain.

She knitted her brows as she carefully scrutinized the Heaven-Earth Cosmos Chest in her hands.

Shifting backward into the rippling space behind her, she reappeared at the summit of the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillar in the Fifth World and immediately shot down into the darkness below.

The darkness stretched endlessly, concealing untold mysteries in its unfathomable depths.

Her divine power surged like tidal waves, rippling through the darkness beneath the Fifth World.

Did the Primordial Demon discover something? Did it unravel a hidden truth about the Abyss?

she speculated.

It no longer mattered whether the Primordial Demon was alive or dead. At this point, she simply had to confirm it for herself.

***

Luo Hongyan's overwhelming aura vanished the instant she left.

The Mirror Tunnel, the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillar, and Eight Trigrams City dissolved like illusions in water, fading into nothingness.

Only the Heaven-Earth Cosmos Chest remained, floating silently in the air.

Pang Jian, Su Wanrou, the Rock Bear, and Ah Man stood in confusion and disbelief.

Why? Why did she leave without a word when she discovered the chest was empty?

Does the Primordial Demon's whereabouts truly matter more than Li Zhaotian's ascension to the True God Realm or the ever-shifting balance of the Abyss?

None of the four could make sense of it.

Pang Jian raised his hand, and the Heaven-Earth Cosmos Chest landed firmly in his palm.

His divine sense seeped into the chest, scanning every inch of its open interior.

The Primordial Demon was indeed gone.

I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling about this,

Pang Jian thought.

That Sovereign seems far more concerned with the vanished Primordial Demon than anything else,

the Abyssal Demon agreed, voice trembling with unease.

Though the Abyssal Demon had a demonic body and could leave the sword, he still cowered, refusing to emerge from within.

Pang Jian remained silent, reaching out with his divine soul, trying to connect with the barrier and seek his master's guidance.

I can't determine the Primordial Demon's whereabouts,

he called.

Master, I fear it's already escaped and could be subtly influencing you again.

No need to worry.

Li Zhaotian's voice resonated through the barrier, transmitting directly into Pang Jian's divine soul.

I paid no mind to that Sovereign's threats of releasing the Primordial Demon because it holds no power over me.

That Primordial Demon can only influence me once. There won't be a second time!

When I prepared for my second ascension to godhood, I already anticipated the Primordial Demon would make his appearance! Rest assured, whether or not it's escaped your seal, it can't disrupt my path to godhood!

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Boy, as I speak to you, my divine path is complete!

At that moment, Li Zhaotian's wild laughter echoed through the minds of every True God.

Everyone! This old man is officially a True God now!

***

In the small wooden pavilion within Wooden Coffer, Li Zhaotian winked playfully at Pang Ling, flashing a grin as he instructed, "Girl, stay put. I'm heading out to chop up that ancient Thunder Dragon."

Standing up, he pushed open a door and strode through, reappearing at the lowest level of the Sword Pavilion with a single step.

"Fatty Li, you're finally back!"

"Any later and the Sword Pavilion would've collapsed!"

"Fatty Li, congratulations on ascending to the True God Realm. Our Sword Pavilion now has a second Sword God!"

"Kill that ancient Thunder Dragon! Cut him down!"

The divine swords, spirit swords, and sword souls throughout the Sword Pavilion chattered with excited anticipation.

These sword souls had witnessed the rise and fall of countless Sword Gods throughout history and knew Li Zhaotian had successfully ascended the instant they sensed his aura.

They also knew Li Zhaotian was unlike any Sword God before him.

Even newly ascended, Li Zhaotian already surpassed all previous Sword Gods.

Pang Jian's ascension had revitalized the sword souls' morale and restored a measure of the Sword Pavilion's lost dignity. Meanwhile, Li Zhaotian's ascension had elevated them, making them feel as though the Sword Pavilion stood above all sects once more.

The glory of an era where five Sword Gods stood peerless and the Sword Pavilion reigned supreme over the strongest sects would return with Li Zhaotian's ascension!

The Sword Pavilion did not even need five Sword Gods this time. Li Zhaotian alone could raise it to that height.

"Tempest Fiend!" Li Zhaotian called with a chuckle.

Spreading his palm, his divine sword materialized in his grasp.

A shuttered window burst open and blinding torrents of lightning surged through. With a single swing of his sword, Li Zhaotian slashed the apocalyptic lightning into nothingness.

Grinning broadly, he stepped onto the window sill and bellowed, "Long Xiao!"

The Tempest Fiend Sword erupted with dozens of sword lights, each infused with the might of the barrier, embodying the supreme Daos of the True Gods throughout the ages.

The dazzling sword lights shot from the windows, streaked toward the massive azure dragon, and sliced all over its colossal body.

Long Xiao let out a painful howl, his massive eyes flickering with agony.

Peering down, he saw a rotund yet imposing figure at a window on the lowest level of the Sword Pavilion.

That man was laughing wildly as he swung his divine sword. Every sword light he unleashed resonated with the barrier, seemingly carrying the weight and authority of past Sword Gods and True Gods in the Abyss.

Long Xiao's massive scales cracked one after another beneath the sword light.

The ancient Thunder Dragon, locked in battle against Gui Mu with his thousand-zhang-long body still coiled around the Sword Pavilion, let out a heart-wrenching wail.

"Li Zhaotian!"

Long Xiao decisively abandoned the Sword Pavilion, his colossal dragon claws reaching downward like sky-rending anchors as he retrieved the Nine Heavens Thunder Divine Tree and the Mirage Dragon Pearl from the Second World.

Li Zhaotian's appearance indicated that his ascension was successful, meaning the watchful gaze of the dragon eye and the contingencies Long Xiao had left below were now meaningless.

Long Xiao had no choice but to confront the newly ascended Sword God of the Sword Pavilion, a foe he had dreaded for many years.

Gui Mu's colossal Dharma Idol loomed over the battlefield, with the Pool of Reincarnation slowly spinning behind her. Spectral souls and ghostly entities condensed into sinister mountains, seas of ghosts, netherworld palaces, Sunken Crypts, and other domains of the dead.

Even Dead Spirit Town, Sinister Soul Town, and Ghost Spirit Town had materialized behind her.

The Pool of Reincarnation and the barrier both empowered Gui Mu's divine techniques.

She had never been at a disadvantage against Long Xiao. In fact, the barrier's influence actually gave her a subtle edge.

When Li Zhaotian stepped out of the Sword Pavilion, Gui Mu only became more at ease.

"This ancient dragon is yours. I'm going to check on Zhu Ji and Li Wang," she said before riding the Pool of Reincarnation toward the skies above the Eastern Land.

Even while holding off Long Xiao, she could sense Zhu Ji and Li Wang entangled in a confrontation with the Sovereign from beyond the Abyss.

However, not long ago, Zhu Ji and Li Wang's auras had abruptly vanished, clearly indicating that the Sovereign had sealed them away.

Li Zhaotian had already ascended to godhood. Even if Long Xiao continued his assault on the barrier, it would change nothing.

Li Zhaotian's Heavenly Dao was to become the shield of the Abyss and protect the human race within through the barrier. Even if he had only just ascended, his Dao meant he could not be weaker than Long Xiao.

Thus, Gui Mu left without hesitation.

"Senior Long Xiao, you've certainly caused quite a bit of trouble for my Sword Pavilion since my first failed attempt at ascension, haven't you?"

Li Zhaotian chuckled as he compressed the Sword Pavilion, letting it float in his left hand. With his right hand, he gripped the Tempest Fiend Sword.

"Long Zhan hunted my disciple in the bizarre mist. You even dared to snatch the Thunderclap Paradise, kill an elder of my Sword Pavilion, and even imprison that girl, Pang Ling.

"You only did that because you thought I'd never ascend, right?" Li Zhaotian bared his teeth in a derisive grin.

"Li Zhaotian! You already killed a Rank Nine dragon back at the Dragon Lair Sect! Your disciple, Pang Jian, slaughtered two more outside the Sacred Soul Continent!

"The Sword Pavilion only lost a single Immortal Realm elder! My Dragon Lair Sect has lost three Rank Nine dragons!

"Li Zhaotian, I will see that your Sword Pavilion's foundation is destroyed! I will crush your divine path!" the ancient Thunder Dragon roared hysterically, clutching the Nine Heavens Thunder Divine Tree and the Mirage Dragon Pearl in his massive claws.

"You provoked the Sword Pavilion first. This is nothing more than what you deserve," Li Zhaotian said, tone light yet edged with sharpness. "I'm quite curious who will remain standing tall and who will be reduced to ruins when this calamity ends, my Sword Pavilion or your Dragon Lair Sect?"